LOWER electricity bills, an increase in prescription costs and changes to education are among a raft of changes for 2019 following new laws effective as of January 1.
As of Tuesday, the cost of a script for drugs on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme will increase to $40.30, with concession patients hit with a 10pc rise per prescription.
Female sanitary items will no longer attract the 10pc consumption tax after state and territories agreed to remove the “tampon tax”.
Exempt items include tampons, pads, menstrual cups, maternity pads and leak-proof underwear.
The move will cost the states around $30m in GST revenue.
Red Energy and Lumo Energy customers on standing offers will receive an automatic discount on their electricity bills.
Customers can expect to receive savings of between $195 and $290 per year for an average user.
Concession card holders with Origin Energy, who are on standing offers or non-discounted plans, will also receive an automatic 10pc discount.
NAB customers will have to pay $2 if they want to use a rediATM following the bank’s withdrawal from the network, owned and operated by Cuscal, as of January 1.
Passport fees have increased, with persons aged 16 and over set to pay $293 for a 10-year passport.
A five year passport for children under 16, or persons aged 75 and over, will cost $148.
A replacement passport will cost $184.
An emergency passport overseas now costs $184.
Individuals will now pay $215 for priority service, while overseas surcharges for adults now costs $132.
Regional students will benefit from a higher parental income limit, with the threshold increased from $150,000 to $160,000.
An extra $10,000 will be added to the parental income limit for each eligible sibling.
The new Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) lifetime limit has come into effect, meaning tertiary students can only receive a government loan for $104,440 of their studies.
Students studying medicine, dentistry or veterinary science will see their loans capped at $150,000.
The amounts will continue to be indexed annually.
Previously, the government only capped postgraduate, full-fee and vocational loans.
Small businesses across the region will ring in the new year with a major tax cut as the Marshall Government’s payroll tax cuts take effect.
Businesses with payrolls less than $1.5m will save up to $44,550 a year.
